The Polar Opposites
by Aevora Myonsarys
Summary: [post-season 3 AU] Three months after the Starcourt battle, Hawkins seems to finally have some prosperity. With new residents moving to town everyday, the horrors of the near past feel much more distant to the teenage survivors. How will Billy, Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan transition into adulthood?
1. Prologue

.

**The Polar Opposites**

**Prologue**

The words seemed meaningless to the spectators. They weren't even able to hear what Eleven said; but for the boy in front of her, her message clearly had an effect.

Billy seemed to have overpowered the darkness within him, and with a last breath of his humanity left, he stood to defy the monster – which, in return, was clearly displeased. He kept himself in front of El, and took discreet steps towards the creature, defying it. Everything about his physique looked so fragile and vulnerable at that moment, but his gaze held strength, or at least the most he could muster considering the circumstances. Even so, it meant enough offense to the monster, which was clearly getting ready to attack.

The attack, however, never came. The giant creature started stumbling, and roaring in despair. It didn't take too long for it to finally lose all balance and collapse. The members of the group who were on the second floor of Starcourt quickly took steps back, to avoid getting hit by the monsters' tentacles as it became lifeless.

Once the Mind Flayer hit the ground, so did Billy. All El could do was widen her eyes in worry, before they succumbed to her weakness and closed as she fainted – like her mind finally understood the imminent danger was over and she finally could give into her own state.

After a couple seconds that felt eternal, the group realized the gate must have been closed by the adults; the monster no longer seemed to breath. It was dead. It was over.

Max was the first to break the silence, as she reached the center of the mall with Max following closely behind. "Billy!" She screamed on top of her lungs as she noticed her brother laying on the ground, clearly unconscious. She was already crying, and didn't bother to hold it back. She crouched besides him, and from her peripheral vision, she could see Mike do the same besides El – whose presence Max hadn't actually noticed before, even though the unconscious girl wasn't that far away from Billy.

The group members who had been separated into smaller teams on the second floor all met together and hugged each other tight, just before going down the escalator to meet the others. Steve and Robin both simultaneously positioned themselves to pick up Billy and carry him, not waiting for Max to ask them. At the motion, Nancy and Jonathan silently follow suit by picking up El from the ground.

As everyone reached the outside, the parking lot starts being packed by military-looking helicopters in the distance, still giving enough space in-between them for ambulances to arrive at the place. The vehicles stop when they get closer to the group, and they quickly take in El and Billy first for intensive care.

El is the first to wake up, somewhat confused at her surroundings, but she soon takes it all in. She gets off the ambulance, without any restraint from the paramedics, and her first sight is Joyce hugging Will while staring back at the younger girl. Joyce's crying eyes tell El everything she needed to know, and she doesn't like it one bit. Hopper is gone.

A few meters from there, Max is silently watching her stepbrother's unconscious body as the paramedics finish their last procedures before they take off to the hospital at a fast speed. He is weak, but the professionals assure the young redhead that Billy is alive. That doesn't diminish her fear. Even with their troubled relationship, she likes him, she always has. And deep down, she knows Billy likes her too… in his own fashion.

As Billy and Max's ambulance drives away, reporter cars from TV channels and radio stations of both Hawkins and nearby towns reach the scene, flooding the place. From what can be overheard, they believe what took place inside was some type of accidental fire.

Joyce finally releases her son from her embrace, and both stride towards their ride home. They both release a breath they didn't know they were holding as they sit on the car, waiting for Jonathan. They are tired. But they are safe and sound.

It's over.

Or so they hoped this time around.

* * *

Three months later, and here is everyone from the group – or almost everyone – waving goodbye to the Byers, who are also taking El with them. Who could judge them? Hawkins was no longer what it once were for them. Even if they are remaining in Indiana, they're better off fair away from this town.

Lucas and Max hug side by side as they watch the truck go. A somewhat frail-looking Billy pats his sister's head discreetly as he watches the same scene with an unreadable expression. Mike can't keep his eyes off the position El sat on the car, with Nancy comforting him with discreet strides on her younger brother's back. Dustin watches everyone silently, and gives one last look at the now distant car before bringing his gaze to his feet; he wished Steve and Robin could be here too, but they had job interviews they couldn't miss.

* * *

The American man's ears can no longer stand the howling wind. The snow falls endlessly, making his forced labor even more difficult – not like the Soviet soldiers around seemed to care about his well-being, or anyone else's.

He makes a brief stop to take a breath as he runs a head through his forehead, bringing it a bit upwards where once he used to have hair. He takes a glimpse to his surroundings with a scowl on his face, before resuming his work.

_I have to figure out how to get out of this shit hole,_ is the thought that keeps repeating itself on a loop in Hopper's mind.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's notes:** This is my attempt at writing how the story would go season 4 onwards, in an AU. As you can see, the prologue is needed because I would like to Billy Hargrove to be alive. My initial plan is for the story to focus primarily on the teenage cast. I am open to suggestions and constructive criticism. Thank you.


	2. Chapter 1: The Trial

.

**The Polar Opposites**

**Chapter 1: The Trial**

_Hawkins, Indiana  
Monday, 8:00 a.m.  
September 9, 1985_

The criminal's eyes are set on his son, who's sitting in the back row of the crowd.

The criminal son's eyes are on the ceiling. He refuses to give his father one last glimpse.

The judge appears, and everyone stands. Regular initial procedures are done – introducing the case, introducing the jury, open statements by the lawyers, and so on.

The criminal knew he was guilty, but he didn't plead so in his preliminary hearing. He refused to go down without a fight.

As usual.

The criminal's wife is sitting between her stepson and her daughter. Her head is cast down, her eyes filled with silent tears. Her tears don't signal sadness, but rather embarrassment…

And relief.

The trial goes on. The charges include assault, battery, trespassing, obstruction, harassment, intimidation, assaulting US government employees, and resisting arrest.

On the night of July 4, the suspect harassed and intimidated a receptionist at Hawkins Memorial Hospital for not allowing him to visit his injured son. His wife tried to calm him down, and he punched her after severely threatening with motions of his fists – therefore committing assault followed by battery. The suspect then proceeded to trespass into the corridors of the hospital, where he came to meet two US soldiers guarding the door; he attacked those, attempting to fight them, inflicting aggravated injuries on them with his car keys. When he was eventually overpowered, he did everything he could to resist arrest.

Summing it all up, he's most likely going to be convicted guilty – but the law is the law, and he must have a trial.

Confirming everyone's expectations, nearing the end of the trial, the jury finds him guilty.

The judge then determines his sentence: 10 years in prison.

The trial is over, the criminal is taken away, everyone leaves.

The criminal's three family members stay, uncertain of how to move on.

"So… what now?" The youngest asks.

Her mother inhales deeply, then exhales soundly. "I have to sort out the papers for divorce from him."

"And us?" She continues. "I mean, our house is in Neil's name."

"We move out." She answers. "Maybe we should start looking for a new place."

"Somewhere else?" Her stepson finally speaks.

"Um… I'm afraid not, Billy." His stepmother answers reluctantly. "I don't think we can afford going back to California." She makes a pause. "Probably, we can barely afford it in here."

Silence.

"I could try to find some minor job, to help out." The girl says. "Billy could too."

Billy finally removes his gaze from the ceiling to stare at her. He is expressionless. He says nothing.

"It's probably better if we stick together." The mother says, and then turns to Billy. "Right?" She asks sounding anxious.

He takes a moment before answering. "Yes, Susan." He stands up and walks towards the door. "Come on Max, let's look for a less shithole of a place."

His younger stepsister stands up, and before following him, she says one last thing to her mom. "It's going to be fine."

Only now her mother allows a tear to actually fall down on her face. "I know."

_[…]_

_[Later the same day – 5:22 p.m.]_

Both Billy and Max have carried out with the day on automatic mode. No conversations between them. Only essential words with real estate agents.

Right now, they've met with Susan at Larry's Cafeteria, some cheap diner downtown. While the stepsiblings were looking for houses, she spent the whole day sorting out papers for her divorce filling.

Billy seems uninterested about being there. Max stares at him discreetly before bringing her gaze to table, and can't help but think he seems out of himself ever since he got out of the hospital._ Well, at least he's doing therapy_, she concludes.

As if reading her mind, Billy speaks up. "Let's get this over with, you know I have to be there by 6." He then puts out his cigarette on an ashtray at the table.

The government has been paying him therapy sessions to, according to them, 'cope with possible post-traumatic stress from the incident' – which in reality just meant they were using him as test study. They'd give him life advice he never asked for while they're at it, which he hates; he would hate even more to admit some of those things made sense... All he focuses on is that they told him the sessions would be over by October.

Susan clears her throat. "Alright, which are our best options?"

Max eyes Billy. It doesn't seem like he wants to talk. She then begins to explain. "We made a final list of three places with the best cost-benefit."

"And that we can afford." Susan adds.

Billy takes a sheet of paper out of the inner pocket of his denim jacket and places it on the table. Susan takes it and reads the options.

The first is an abandoned house at Cornwallis Road. It is big and in sale for a cheap price, but needs severe maintenance; because it has been empty for so many years, the neighborhood around actually became that of a bit more privileged people, even though it is distant from downtown. From what Billy can recall, that is located near Steve Harrington's house.

"An abandoned house?" She asks. No one answers, and she goes back to reading.

The second is a house three lots after their current one. Also located on Cherry Lane, it actually is smaller than where they live now, but has been thoroughly renovated.

"We're definitely _not_ staying on Cherry Lane." She says before finishing the list.

The younger ones don't seem to object, and she takes a pen out of her purse to cross it out.

The third is a medium-sized house, of medium-level maintenance needed. It is located on Primrose Street, and Max pointed out how it is located in front of Dustin's house.

Susan puts the list down. "Well, I'm guessing the one at Primrose Street is the only real viable option." She looks at them; they remain silent. "What do you think?"

"I guess." Max says. Billy just shrugs.

"This one it is, then. I'll see what has to be done, and we'll move there as fast as possible."

"Can I go?" Billy sounds impatient.

"Yes. Sure. I'm not go-…" Susan says, but stops herself mid-sentence. It seems she has changed her mind. "Yeah, we're done." She casts her head downwards.

He gets up without saying a word. Before he goes too far, Max talks in a tone loud enough for him to hear. "See you later too." She rolls her eyes as he gives her no answer. "Why did I think he'd get better?" Billy's Camaro's sound gets distant afterwards.

"Maxine, stop that." Her mother tells her daughter, with a calm voice. "This is difficult for all of us." She makes a pause. "But especially to him."

Max brings her hands up as if signaling innocence.

"Let's see the real estate agent at once, shall we?" Susan tries to smile and sound positive.

At her mother's attempt, Max gives a sweet smile back. With that, they leave the place.

It's going to be a long month for them.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's notes:**  
\- I chose the name Primrose Street in homage to Primrose Everdeen of The Hunger Games.


	3. Chapter 2: Red Dragon

.

**The Polar Opposites**

**Chapter 2: Red Dragon**

_Hawkins, Indiana  
Thursday, 7:06 a.m.  
October 10, 1985_

"Do I _seriously_ have to go to school already? Come on dad, we arrived barely half hour ago in town!" An impatient teenager whines in irritation.

"Miharu, that's enough!" Her father answers sternly, not having any of it. "You know how we value education in this house. Now go pack your things and I _might_ let you choose dinner tonight."

She closes her eyelids so that her father won't see her rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Yes, Mr. Miyazaki. Anything else?" She asks sarcastically, and her father just stares back in disapproval. She's not even asking for too much – she's tired from their trip and just wants a day to rest. However, the word 'rest' doesn't exist on her father's vocabulary.

She turns and tries not to stomp on the stairs as she reaches the second floor to get her backpack from her bedroom. Her father bought a furnished house, wishing not to 'waste time', according to his own words; she's pretty sure that is an indication they won't be staying for too long in this nowhere town she already dislikes. All they've brought with them were personal belongings such as clothes, a few photos, etc.

She checks to make sure her father isn't around. She checks her clothes on a big mirror near the wall, making sure her clothes are properly covering all of her back – she doesn't want people staring at her on the first day, nor yet another scolding from her father; it probably would be his biggest scolding to date if he saw her tattoo.

Miharu then crouches near the door where her backpack is. Opening it, she makes sure everything she needs is inside. _Notebook, check. Drawing pencils, check. Weed, check. Mint drops, check. Cigarettes, check. Sweatshirt, check. Alright, I guess it's all here._ She zips it closed and puts it on, the bag hanging from her left shoulder.

She goes downstairs again, back to the living room. "I'm ready." Her father seems to be on the phone, and makes a sign with his hand for her to be silent. He's the main engineer for Akatatsu, Inc., meaning he's busy all the time, especially now that the company's been hired by the local government specially for rebuilding Hawkins' shopping mall. They've come all the way from San Francisco so that her father could lead the reconstruction. The company's name means 'red dragon'.

"Never mind, I'll figure where the school is. See you later." Her father doesn't answer her and she takes her cue to leave.

She grabs her keys. She checks her red car before getting inside._ It's a bit dirty from the trip, I should probably wash it later._ It was probably cliché for a Japanese girl to have a Japanese car, but she likes her Mitsubishi. Her father bought a Mitsubishi Starion in the year prior, and it was her 16th birthday present. Now, one year later, her advanced 17th birthday present was the announcement they would move to Indiana.

After putting her sunglasses on (they're always in her car), she turns the car on, and the engine roars. The Starion has a turbo engine. Driving it is probably the only badass thing her father will ever allow for her to do in life. Not that she needs his permission for most of the things she likes to do, though.

She rides through Baker Street before coming to a halt in an intersection. Having no clue which direction the school is, she takes a chance by turning right on Maple Street.

After a few minutes of driving, she reaches downtown. Spotting a small group of students riding on bikes, she decides to follow them, assuming they're also going to the school.

Miharu's guess was right, and she eventually reaches Hawkins High School. She finds a spot on the parking lot and turns off her car. Checking herself on the mirror, she adjusts her long silk-like black hair to make sure the wind didn't mess it up. Her hair is very long, and reaches her waist. She's wearing fitting light blue jeans, a plain black T-shirt, and red sneakers.

She grabs her backpack on the passenger seat beside her and hops off the car. She sees there are a few people staring at the car, and now at her. They've probably never seen a Japanese car in this town before. Rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses, she walks casually towards the entrance.

As she reaches closer, she sees the group of boys she had followed leaving their bikes parked. From up close, she's totally sure they're nerds, so they probably will be able to help her find the principle's office. She approaches them. "Hey."

They completely freeze and eye each other. "Hi." The one with pale skin and black hair answers first.

Annoyed, she goes straight to the point. "Do you know where the principle's office is? I'm new here."

They eye each other again, for whatever reason Miharu doesn't understand. "Um. Sure." The boy with black skin answers.

Then, the third boy speaks. He is white, but less pale then the first boy, and has brown curly hair. "I can show it to you if you want. By the way, welcome to Hawkins! I'm Dustin. I'm a junior. And you, who are you?" He says it all at once, sounding somewhat exasperated. He's trying to impress her, from the looks of it.

She raises her left eyebrow, then takes off her sunglasses. "I'm Mimi. I'm a senior." They seem taken aback. Probably because she's Asian. She's used to it at this point. One thing she's never gotten used to is people mispronouncing her name, so she always introduces herself by the nickname Mimi to avoid getting annoyed.

No one says a thing. Getting a bit impatient, she breaks the silence. "Well…"

"Oh, right!" The boy Dustin seems to snap out of it. "The principle's office. Follow me." He starts walking. She gives a half smile to the two boys who stay behind before following the curly-haired junior student.

Michael and Lucas eye one another and shrug. Mike then proceeds to do the talking. "Where's Max? I thought her brother would be bringing her and Dustin to school."

"She said he was busy today." Lucas shrugs. "She's skating today."

Speaking of her, she shows up right behind them. "Hey guys. Guess I'm kinda late."

"We should get going, you know how Mr. Riggleman is." Mike says and takes the upfront.

Lucas and Max share a brief perk kiss before following behind their friend.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's notes:**

\- The name of the company, 'Akatatsu', means 'red dragon' in Japanese.  
\- Miharu's first name was chosen in homage to the Tekken character of the same name.  
\- Baker Street is the fictitious address I chose for Miharu to live in, inspired by Sherlock Holmes' address; as you could see, she lives near Maple Street, where the Wheeler house is situated in.


	4. Chapter 3: Aurora

.

**The Polar Opposites**

**Chapter 3: Aurora**

_Hawkins, Indiana  
Friday, 8:32 a.m.  
October 11, 1985_

"Is this it?"

The teenage girl doesn't get a verbal answer; the car comes to a stop, answering the question for her instead.

The driver, an adult man whom the girl shares many physical similarities with, turns off the engine and opens the door. As he gets out, the younger one follows suit.

"I know it's not a big deal, but…" The man starts, then makes a pause.

"Dad." The girl says before he can continue. "It's fine." She says reassuringly.

Father and daughter look at each other. They are not warm towards one another in actions or words, but they have a good relationship. They like one another on their own ways, despite their many differences.

The truck that had been following them along the way comes to a stop behind them. The truck's driver and his helper promptly get off.

"Shall we start, Mr. Vitiello?" The driver asks.

"Yes, let's go. And I insist, no need for formalities, call me just Daniel." He answers, and the men nod before heading to the back of the truck.

"Come on, Aurora." Daniel then calls his daughter, who exhales deeply.

They've moved so many times at this point, it feels frustrating for her. She hopes they're finally settling down for longer this time, as she is planning to start college studies at Indiana State University in the next semester – the only place nearby she could afford to pay. She wished she could have started going to college in the previous month, but as usual her father just had to ruin everything and her plans had to be postponed.

She's determined not to leave town this time if her father wishes to move again. She's 18, and that should be old enough for her to be on her own. She has been saving money since she was 12 or so, exactly so that she could get a degree to facilitate things a bit in the future. Her father has the same habits ever since she was a child, and probably even before that, and at this point she feels he is a lost cause. She likes him, but it can't go on like this.

"If you help enough, I'll give you the car keys and you can drive around. How does that sound?" Her father breaks her chain of thoughts.

That peaks Aurora's interest, and she lightens up a bit.

_[…]_

_[Later the same day - 3:45 p.m.]_

"Have you heard the news?" Steve breaks the silence of the empty Family Video store; their shift is almost over, and there are no clients in sight.

"Hm?" Robin mumbles the sound in response. Both are sorting through the shelves, organizing the tapes on the horror movies section in alphabetical order.

"It seems a family has already moved into the Byers house."

There's a silent pause before Robin continues the conversation. "It's not the Byers house if there's a new family there." She tries to give a light-hearted response, but she is unable to give it an intonation to indicate joking, as she shares the same feeling Steve has at this moment – difficulty moving on with life. It feels weird to know the Byers are gone. Robin didn't even know them that well, but since she can remember they lived there.

The silence remains until they finally finish sorting the shelves, when Robin picks up where the conversation had paused. "How do you know that?" She asks her work colleague as they both stand up and head towards the cash register area.

"Chris Thompson came in here earlier bragging about selling the house like it were an impossible feat." Steve answers, a bit of disdain in his tone.

Robin rolls his eyes. "He's a douche. He's an acquaintance of my mom's, even she hated him, and she tolerates literally everyone."

"I know." Steve agrees. "I don't even know how he's able to be nice enough to be a real estate agent."

"Guys!" A male voice suddenly calls the duo, who look at its direction. It sounds a bit afar, like coming from the next room. A 'staff only' door bursts open, revealing an exasperated Keith. He keeps his mouth open to talk, but all that comes out are his steady breaths.

"What? Your Cheetos are over?" Steve asks him mockingly, and Robin snorts trying not to laugh.

Keith glares in response. "Can you please cut that and come help me out? Your little friend is getting on my nerves."

Robin raises an eyebrow, amused. "Who?"

"The little brat. I don't know her name." Keith says. Steve and Robin just stare at each other. "Come on, get going!"

Steve just roll his eyes and starts walking, Robin follows suit behind him. While Keith assumes temporary control over Family Video, the friend duo gets inside the arcade and it doesn't take too long for them to find the source of trouble.

"Hi, nerds" Erica greets them. She has her usual little defying tone, but she's being friendly (at least right now).

"Hey there, nerd." Steve greets back. Robin brings her hand up in an awkward motion as her own way of greeting. The term 'nerd' became a casual way of calling one another on their little group: Steve, Robin, Erica, and Dustin. It became like an internal joke, and has stuck over the months.

"So, why was Keith so mad, care to tell?" Robin asks.

"I just don't like him." Erica says dismissively, even making a waving signal with her right hand to give emphasis to her sentence. The two older ones just scoff in response. "What?! I just gained you some free time to play arcades and that's your reaction?" Erica continues, faking to be annoyed.

"Thank you, Erica, for saving the day! What would our lives be like without you?" Robin says in an exaggerated sarcastic tone.

"You're welcome." Erica says, sounding not humble at all. She then shifts back her attention towards the Pac-Man arcade game she had been playing.

Technically, she isn't wrong. Their shift at the Family Video would have ended 4:00 p.m., when they would start their shift at the Arcade until 22 p.m. Thanks to Erica, now they have a 10-minute window of free time.

Steve and Robin applied to work on Family Video only. However, they've made an informal agreement with Keith to help him out at Arcade during the second half of their shift, as nighttime at weekdays are too busy at the Arcade for him to handle on his own. The deal is on until Keith is able to hire a second employee to help him out at the arcade. The duo doesn't want that to happen anytime soon, as they're getting some extra cash out of the deal.

The businesses downtown Hawkins have been flourishing again ever since the Starcourt Shopping Mall went defunct. Also, Hawkins became a somewhat touristic spot of alien enthusiastics and conspiracy theorists, increasing the business income of the town.

On top of that, the real estate market has had a boom ever since the town's new mayor Samwell Keller assumed office. He had been Larry Kline's vice-mayor prior to that. He is responsible for securing, with help from the Indiana state government, a major deal with a Japanese real estate developing company Akatatsu Inc., which has offices in San Francisco. That means a bunch of workers is moving to Hawkins.

All that means they always have many clients, almost too many for them to keep up with. But they're used to it, as their previous job at Scoops Ahoy was also quite hectic.

Steve sits by the cash register reading a magazine, bored; the clock on the wall reads 5:03 p.m., which means slowly the number of people inside will increase. Robin heads to the Dig Dug machine to clean it after some nasty kid with sticky fingers used the machine and the next person who wished to go complained about it.

Steve's eyes perk up casually as the doors open making a slight sound. Expecting to be some random bratty child, he finds his eyes stuck at the person who walks in, as he can't recognize who it is.

It is a girl who's probably around the same age as him, but somewhat shorter in height. She has the palest white skin he's ever seen – even though this is Indiana – and her eyes are big and round, with greenish-hazel irises. Her hair is somewhere between dark blonde and light brown, and has some discreet curls that seem to be natural; it reaches about half her back. She's wearing light blue jeans, which are large all through the length of the legs, and that are a bit high-waist, with worn out white sneakers, and an oversized white sweater.

She approaches the cash register area, and Steve quickly composes himself. "Hello there, I don't think I've ever seen you around here." He says, trying to sound charming. He can't help but think she's cute. "How can I help you? My name's Steve, by the way."

"Hi." She says, not making eye contact. She seems shy. Her voice is delicate. "I was passing by and saw the sign on the glass. Are you hiring?" She points discreetly to the direction of the glass.

He raises an eyebrow. "Yes, we're hiring." He makes an awkward pause. "Uh, let me call our manager, you can talk to him."

She only smiles and nods shyly in response. Steve then turns to the 'staff only' door that connects the Arcade to the Family Video to call Keith, who shortly appears on the girl's sight. Steve watches them from behind the door (as someone has to remain in charge at the Family Video) and it seems Keith is positive about the girl. He then overhears him talk. "Alright, you're hired then. I'll show you around and if you pick it up quickly you might even start tomorrow already." It seems he's trying to impress her, but if it works she hasn't showed, only thanking him for the job in response.

_This is my chance_, Steve thinks. "Hey!" He reappears into the scene. "Why don't you let me show her around? It's my shift after all." He says as he taps Keith's shoulder, who seems a bit displeased, but doesn't object, only leaving silently murmuring something along the lines of 'I hate you, Harrington'.

"Well, please follow me." He says coming upfront, and she walks besides him as they enter an aisle of arcades. "Sorry, I didn't quite catch your name."

"I'm Aurora." She answers, same shy tone. She still isn't making any eye contact, and seems to play slightly with her on fingers, head cast slightly downwards.

"Nice to meet you, Aurora." He says with a wide smile. "We'll sure to make you feel at home in here." They come to a stop as Robin shows up in the aisle, who slightly frowns at the sight in front of her. "Oh, this is Robin, by the way. She works here too. We're temporarily helping out at the Arcade, but we're actually at Family Video right across."

"Keith mentioned something about it." She says. There's a subtle accent on her pronunciation which Steve can't figure out. "Nice to meet you, Robin."

"Hey there. Where are you from?" Robin bluntly asks. It seems she has noticed the accent too.

Aurora seems like she wasn't expecting the question. "I used to live in New York."

_She definitely doesn't have any New York state accent_, Robin thinks. _Not any American accent, for that matter…_

"Wow, that's even colder than here." Steve tries to make conversation about it. She chuckles sweetly. It seems that, besides her shyness, she's a bubbly person who smiles and laughs very easily.

"I was just remembering, Steve. Erica was looking for you." Robin says, but looking at Steve. She knows he's trying to flirt with the new girl, and tries to mess his tactics. "You know how she gets impatient."

"Why don't you go help her?" He answers, annoyed.

Robin scoffs. "Oh, come on Steve, she called you, not me."

Aurora just keeps eyeing them both visibly confused at their exchange, but does not interrupt.

"I'll go in a minute, ok? I'm in the middle of something here." Steve cuts her off. Robin just raises her eyebrow at Steve before leaving to continue her work, and Steve resumes showing Aurora around and explaining what must be done in the job.

After some minutes, Steve wraps up his explanation. "So, I guess this is it." He runs a hand through his hair. He can see Robin snorting from the corner of his view. "Any questions?"

"No, I think I get it." Aurora answers. "I guess I'll just need to get used to everything." She admits, a bit nervous.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine." He says reassuringly, and tentatively puts his left hand over her right shoulder. She doesn't seem to find it invasive.

"Thanks." She smiles. Suddenly, she seems to remember something. "Oh, do we have uniforms?"

"Actually we don't, we just use identification pins on our shirts."

"Alright then." She nods. "See you tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah." He makes a pause. "Actually, I was wondering if you'd like to go out later? I mean, if you're free." He nervously runs his hand on his hair.

Aurora looks to the floor. "Um, I'm new to town, so… I don't feel too comfortable going out at night just yet." She admits.

Steve is a disappointed by her 'no', but tries to play it cool. "Yeah, yeah, sure." He answers dismissively. He can see Robin's sarcastic smile from his peripheral view; she's behind the cash register.

Aurora then proceeds to surprise him. "It would be nice to have someone to show me around, though. Maybe tomorrow morning?"

Steve instantly lights up. "Wow, yes, of course! I'd love to show you around. Maybe we can even have lunch at Larry's. His food isn't all that, but trust me, you totally have to know the place. Everyone knows it."

She chuckles. "Cool. Tomorrow then."

"I can pick you up if you want." He says. She nods. "Where do you live?"

"A bit far." She says. "Mulholland Drive, 149."

Steve widens his eyes. "Wait. You moved into the Byers house?"

Aurora frowns. She doesn't really know what to answer to that.

"Sorry, it's just that they were friends of mine." He says, shaking his head. "I actually live pretty close by. Kerley, 103."

"Oh, cool. I think I've seen your house. The big one, right?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Steve seems a bit embarrassed about her pointing out the size of the house, for some reason. He doesn't want to come off as snobbish.

"I could meet you there, so you don't have to go back and for-"

"Oh, come on, I can pick you up, it's nothing, really." He interrupts her.

"Are you sure?" She seems genuinely concerned about being bothersome.

"Of course I am! Come on, it's alright."

She shrugs. "10 a.m.? Not too early, not too late."

"10 a.m. it is."

"See you then." She smiles at him yet again. She then turns to the cash register area. "Goodbye Robin, nice to meet you." She waves, and receives a wave back from Robin. Aurora then leaves.

Steve and Robin stare at each other.

"Can you believe that?! She's at the Byers house!" Steve says. "And I have a date!"

"I know, right?" Robin says. "Aaaand that's hardly a date, really. She just thought you were nice."

"Aw, come on, Robin, it's totally a date."

"Steve, she literally doesn't know anyone in town. She just wants a friend."

"No, it's a date."

"If I had offered the same thing, she would have accepted. Doesn't mean it's a date."

"Listen nerd, I know you're jealous, but it's totally a date, alright?"

Robin rolls her eyes. "If it helps you sleep at night."

"By the way, bringing up Erica as if she were some girlfriend or something was low. Even for you."

She shrugs. "Maybe." She makes a pause. "You dodged it well, though. You might finally be learning some things."

"Seems like King Steve is still inside here somewhere." He says, pointing his thumb at his own chest. Robin just rolls her eyes again, also shaking her head.

"Steve!" Erica calls from whatever corridor she's in now.

"I wasn't lying though." Robin says shrugging.

_And back to work we go_, Steve thinks, as he heads towards the sound of Erica's voice.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's notes:**

\- The series does not specify a name for the street leading to the old Byers house other than the nickname the kids gave to it ('Mirkwood'); I took the freedom to name it Mulholland Drive, after the movie of the same name.


End file.
